When Being a Woman In Politics Might Actual Be An Asset

Michelle Cottle writes a really fascinating profile of Nancy Pelosi in the New Republic this week. She writes that Pelosi have so been so effective in blocking the Bush administration and strong arming fellow congressional members that she has a developed a reputation of being "a power broker and
all-around political badass." She is now "being
touted as one of the most powerful speakers in modern history."

Part of Pelosi’s success may be the fact that she’s a woman. She’s able to snow some people who underestimate her strength. She can give a grandmotherly lecture when necessary. And charm and flirt other times.

Of course, being a woman in a testosterone-heavy institution has its drawbacks: As Dick Armey memorably told the San Francisco Chronicle
in 2002, "One of the reasons Nancy’s abilities are not appreciated is
that she is a beautiful woman." But possessing the proverbial "woman’s
touch" is also part of Pelosi’s political arsenal, helping her twist
the arms of some of Congress’s grumpiest old bulls without putting them
on the defensive. (A certain Ways and Means Committee chairman is said
to be highly susceptible to her charms.) Some colleagues have described
Pelosi’s tough-love leadership style as "maternal." Others think it
flows more from her upbringing. "She just knows how to schmooze these
guys," says the speaker’s communication director Brendan Daly, who
posits that having "five older brothers helps." Barney Frank offers a
more pointed analysis: "Nancy is a very smart woman who used to be a
very smart girl at a time when smart girls were told that if they were
too smart they would scare away the boys." Now, he adds, no matter how
tough Pelosi has to be, in private she has "a manner" that helps soothe
ruffled feathers. One leadership aide recalls a meeting in which a
disgruntled committee chairman threatened to oppose a bill; Pelosi rose
slowly from her seat and delivered a low-key but sternly disappointed
lecture on the need for chairmen to set a unifying example. (The
chastened member wound up supporting the bill.) Emily’s List president
Ellen Malcolm has dubbed Pelosi’s expression in such situations "The
Grandmother Look."

This look–in fact, the whole maternal
role–is key to Pelosi’s political identity. Pelosi may be tough, even
feminist, but not in the in-your-face ’70s way that Hillary Clinton is
often associated with. She has never downplayed her femininity and is
known for her Armani suits, Tahitian pearls, and oh-so-girly chocolate
habit.

The pronounced femininity works because it is naturally
who she is, but it is also savvy politics: Such self-marketing
undermines GOP efforts to paint Pelosi as a left-wing extremist out of
touch with mainstream values. The speaker makes frequent reference to
her years as a stay-at-home mom, while staffers and colleagues are
quick to attribute leadership tricks and personal ticks to her time in
the domestic trenches. Following Pelosi’s swearing in as speaker, the
media was awash in photos of her, gavel in hand, surrounded by her
grandkids as well as the children of other members. She looked
deceptively like your garden-variety grandma–albeit vastly better
coiffed.

I
found this article very reassuring and depressing at the same time.
While Hillary’s candidacy may be going down the toilet along with any
hope of a woman president in the near future, Pelosi shows that woman
can make it in DC. However, in order to make it work, women have to fit
into very scripted roles. They have play the mother or the grandmother.
They have to charm and flirt. They have to fly under the radar.